Cost of living: Jo Raphael: New series aims to help families navigate crisis

The cost of living is hurting families, but a new series aims to help families through tough times. Photo / File

OPINION

Unless you’re independently wealthy and living in a financial bubble, I don’t believe the average person could have escaped the effects of the cost of living crisis.

If you’re having to rethink recipes that use eggs or cheese or thinking twice before you hop in the car and drive somewhere, or if you’re having to shop for second-hand children’s clothes (or adults’ clothes, for that matter), you’re being affected.

Just looking at the prices of everything we need to stay alive. I don’t know how some families are coping.

Factors that have contributed to this pain have included the Russian invasion of Ukraine affecting the price of oil, inflation, the rise in interest rates, disruption to global supply chains, and Covid-related closures of key factories in Asia.

The bad news is it doesn’t look like there will be a respite soon. RNZ reported last month the economy is probably already in recession and will remain so for a while.

Stats NZ has reported the cost of living for the average household (as measured by the household living-costs price indexes) increased by 8.2 per cent in the 12 months to December 2022.

Food prices rose 1.5 per cent in February on the month before, to be 12 per cent higher than a year ago.

Fruit and vegetables drove the monthly increase, up close to 6 per cent, with small rises for meat and groceries, it reported.

We’ve seen the costs of fruits and vegetables go up since Cyclone Gabrielle hit, more than a month ago now.

One colleague told me he had seen kūmara, a favourite family staple, for $11 a kilogram. In Auckland, it was selling in some outlets for up to $12.99 a kilo.

That’s staggering.

A Countdown spokesperson told NZME the chain was experiencing challenges with its bagged salads, coleslaws, lettuce, and kūmara - but carrots, onions, and potatoes were still in plentiful supply for the time being.

Consumer NZ has told NZME that food is the number-one concern for renters.

To put this into perspective, a June 2021 report said food ranked as the eighth-highest financial concern for Kiwis.

The good news is NZME - publisher of the Bay of Plenty Times, Rotorua Daily Post and The New Zealand Herald - is today broadening its coverage of the cost of living crisis impacting all New Zealanders. We look at how the skyrocketing cost of living is impacting us all, and how to manage your finances through this time.

The aim is to provide news you can use and advice for readers on how to cope with the challenges associated with the cost of living.

We will be speaking to people who can offer practical, everyday solutions to common budget woes.

So hopefully, while there doesn’t look to be a respite in the cost of living, we can share some tips and tricks for families to help navigate these tough times.